List of museums in Essex

Last updated

This list of museums in Essex, England contains museums which are defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Also included are non-profit art galleries and university art galleries. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.

Contents

Museums

To use the sortable table, click on the icons at the top of each column to sort that column in alphabetical order; click again for reverse alphabetical order.

NameImageTown/CityRegionTypeSummary
Art Exchange ColchesterColchesterArt website, part of the University of Essex, international, contemporary art by established and emerging artists, historic figures who continue to inspire, and group shows
Ashdon Museum Ashdon Uttlesford Local website, local history, trades, agriculture, social history
Audley End House House Audley End cz.jpg Saffron Walden UttlesfordHistoric houseOperated by English Heritage, early 17th-century country house, finely furnished rooms, masterpieces by Hans Holbein and Canaletto, 1880s period servant's wing, gardens
Aythorpe Roding Windmill Aythorpe Roding Mill - geograph.org.uk - 515645.jpg Aythorpe Roding UttlesfordMillLate 18th century windmill
Barleylands Farm Museum Billericay Basildon AgricultureEarly farm machinery and tractors, tools, household implements, farm and animals
Beecroft Art Gallery Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-SeaArtCollection ranges from 17th-century Dutch paintings to contemporary work
Bocking Windmill Bocking Windmill, Church Street, Bocking, Braintree - geograph.org.uk - 57800.jpg Bocking Braintree MillEarly 18th century windmill
Bourne Mill, Essex Colchester Colchester Mill website, operated by the National Trust, Elizabethan water mill
Boxted Airfield Museum Langham ColchesterMilitary website, history of RAF Boxted in WWII
Bragg's Mill Ashdon UttlesfordMillMid 18th century windmill
Braintree Museum Braintree District Museum, Manor Street, Braintree - geograph.org.uk - 59717.jpg BraintreeBraintreeMultiple website, local history, industry, textiles, ceramics and art, and "The Essex Model House" by St Osyth Mahala Wood
Brentwood Museum Brentwood Brentwood Local website
Brightlingsea Museum Brightlingsea Tendring Local website, local history, Roman life, shipbuilding, oyster industry
Burnham-on-Crouch & District Museum Burnham-on-Crouch Maldon LocalLocal history, maritime, agricultural, industrial and social history
Canvey Island Heritage Centre Canvey Island Castle Point Local website
Canvey Island Transport Museum Canvey Bus Museum - geograph.org.uk - 107555.jpg Canvey IslandCastle PointTransportation website, automobiles, buses, commercial, military and emergency vehicles, public road transport artifacts, model train layout; located in a former bus depot
Cater Museum Billericay BasildonLocal website, local history, period rooms
Chelmsford Museum Chelmsford Chelmsford MultipleLocal history, art, archaeology, natural history, industry
Coalhouse Fort Coalhouse Fort, Tilbury UK.jpg East Tilbury Thurrock Military19th century Victorian coastal defence fort open on specified days, includes military museums and vehicles
Coggeshall Grange Barn Coggeshall ColchesterAgriculture website, operated by the National Trust, 14th century barn built for Coggeshall Abbey, collection of farm tools and equipment
Coggeshall MuseumCoggeshallColchesterLocal website, local history, industry, agriculture, culture, lace
Colchester Castle Museum Colchester castle 800.jpg ColchesterColchesterHistoryNorman castle with exhibits of local history, archaeology and Roman history
Colne Valley Postal History Museum Halstead BraintreePhilatelic website, British Post Office letter boxes, stamp vending machines, documents, postal uniforms and associated artefacts, open by appointment
Colne Valley Railway Sible Hedingham BraintreeRailwayHeritage railway, 7¼" miniature railway, exhibit centre with history and artefacts, rare breed farm, located at Castle Hedingham Station
Combined Military Services Museum Maldon MaldonMilitaryCombat equipment and weaponry used by the British armed forces from medieval times to the present, lifestyles of the troops, uniforms, Secret Service, artifacts, vehicles
Copped Hall Copped Hall east west 1.jpg Waltham Abbey Epping Forest Historic houseGeorgian mansion under restoration, gardens
Cressing Temple Cressing BraintreeHistoryMedieval barns and well used by temple of the Knights Templar, Tudor walled garden, early 17th-century house, granary and court hall
Duck End Mill Finchingfield post Windmill.jpg Finchingfield BraintreeMillMid 18th century windmill
Dutch Cottage Museum Dutch Cottage Museum, Canvey Island - geograph.org.uk - 246513.jpg Canvey Island Castle Point Historic house website, operated by the Benfleet and District Historical Society
Earls Colne Heritage Museum Earls Colne BraintreeLocal website, local history
East Anglian Railway Museum Chappel and Wakes Colne Railway Station, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 42029.jpg Chappel ColchesterRailwayHeritage railway and museum, includes equipment, station buildings, signal boxes, goods shed and restoration shed
East Essex Aviation Society and Museum Martello Tower at Point Clear 4.jpg St Osyth TendringMilitary website, located in a Martello tower, military artifacts, items recovered from local aircraft crash sites
Epping Forest District Museum Waltham Abbey Epping ForestLocal website, local history, archaeology, history of the abbey, medieval and Tudor artifacts, Victorian life
Essex Fire Museum Grays ThurrockFirefighting website
Essex Police MuseumChelmsfordChelmsfordLaw enforcement website, history of Essex Police from 1840 to present day, Victorian jail cell
Essex Regiment Museum ChelmsfordChelmsfordMilitaryRegimental history and memorabilia, located at the Chelmsford Museum
Feering and Kelvedon Local History Museum Kelvedon BraintreeLocal website, local history, archaeology, agriculture, trades
Finchingfield Guildhall Finchingfield Guildhall.jpg Finchingfield BraintreeLocal website, 15th century guildhall under restoration, houses the Finchingfield Heritage Center and Finchingfield Library
Firstsite ColchesterColchesterArtContemporary visual arts centre and gallery
Frinton's Crossing Cottage, Garden and Railway Museum Frinton-on-Sea TendringLocal website, operated by the Frinton & Walton Heritage Trust, local and area railroad history
Fry Art Gallery Saffron Walden UttlesfordArtEmphasis on local artists, includes paintings, prints, illustrations, wallpapers and decorative designs by artists of the 20th century and the present
Gibberd Gallery Harlow Harlow Art website, changing exhibits and Frederick Gibberd collection of British watercolours and drawings, operated by The Harlow Art Trust
Great Bardfield Cottage Museum Great Bardfield BraintreeLocal information, local history
Great Dunmow Museum Great Dunmow UttlesfordLocal website, local history, industry, culture
Halstead Heritage Museum Halstead BraintreeLocal website, local history, culture, transport, operated by the Halstead & District Local History Society
Harlow Museum Harlow Harlow Local website, walled gardens, local history, Roman era & artifacts, Tudor life, Victorian household items, toys
Harwich Lifeboat Museum Harwich TendringMaritime website, operated by the Harwich Society, information, located in a former lifeboat station with exhibits about sea rescues
Harwich Maritime Museum HarwichTendringMaritime website, operated by the Harwich Society, located in a decommissioned lighthouse, nautical artifacts, information
Harwich Redoubt Harwich Redoubt 01 - general view.JPG HarwichTendringMilitaryNapoleonic fort, operated by the Harwich Society
Hedingham Castle The Keep at Castle Hedingham - geograph.org.uk - 30510.jpg Castle Hedingham BraintreeHistoric houseMedieval Norman keep and grounds
Hill Hall Epping Epping ForestHistoric houseOperated by English Heritage, Elizabethan mansion, tours by appointment
Hollytrees Museum Hollytrees museum, Colchester - geograph.org.uk - 189300.jpg ColchesterColchesterLocalLocal history, toys, costumes
Hylands House Hylands house.jpg ChelmsfordChelmsfordHistoric houseRestored 18th century Queen Anne style house, park and gardens
Ingatestone Hall IngatestoneHall(JohnSTurner)May2003.jpg Ingatestone Brentwood Historic house16th century Tudor house and grounds
John Webb's Mill Thaxted Windmill and Church - geograph.org.uk - 158193.jpg Thaxted UttlesfordMillEarly 19th century windmill
Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker Entrance to Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker.jpg Kelvedon Hatch Brentwood MilitaryUnderground bunker used during the Cold War as a regional government headquarters
Langdon Visitor Centre & Haven Plotlands Museum Basildon BasildonMultipleNatural history of the nature reserve, also Haven Plotlands Museum, a 1930s period bungalow country getaway
Layer Marney Tower Layer marney2.jpg ColchesterColchesterHistoric house16th century Tudor palace and gardens
Little Baddow History Centre Little Baddow ChelmsfordLocal website
Maeldune Centre MaldonMaldonLocalLocal history, art, modern large embroidery about the Battle of Maldon
Maldon District Agricultural & Domestic Museum The Maldon and District Agricultural and Domestic Museum, Goldhanger, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 172860.jpg MaldonMaldonHistory information, vintage farm machinery and equipment, agriculture tools, household items
Maldon MuseumMaldonMaldonLocal website, also known as Museum in the Park, located in a park keeper's lodge
Mangapps Railway Museum Mangaps03.jpg Burnham-on-Crouch MaldonRailwayHeritage railway and museum, includes rolling equipment, memorabilia, buildings
Manningtree Museum Manningtree TendringLocal website, local history
Mersea Island Museum Mersea Island ColchesterLocal website, fishing, oystering, wild fowling, boat building, local history, natural history, geology
Minories Art Gallery ColchesterColchesterArtPart of the Colchester Institute
Mountnessing Windmill Mountnessing windmill.jpg Mountnessing Brentwood MillEarly 19th century windmill
Munnings Art Museum Dedham ColchesterArtHome and works of Sir Alfred Munnings, located in Castle House
Museum of Power Langford MaldonTechnologyLocated in a water pumping station, features working examples of steam engines, machinery, equipment and tools, miniature railway
Natural History Museum, Colchester ColchesterColchesterNatural history website, natural heritage of north-east Essex
Naze Tower Walton-on-the-Naze TendringNatural historyTower with viewing platform, museum about the ecology and environment of the Naze headland, art gallery
Nazeing Glass Museum of 20th Century British Domestic Glass Nazeing Epping ForestArt website, works and history of Nazeing Glass Works and other British glass manufacturers in the 20th century
North Weald Airfield Museum North Weald Bassett Epping ForestMilitaryHistory of the former military airfield
Nottage Maritime Institute Wivenhoe ColchesterMaritime website, maritime paintings, photographs, models and artifacts
Paycocke's CoggeshallColchesterHistoric house website, operated by the National Trust, early 16th-century house with elaborate paneling and woodcarving, garden
Peter Edwards Museum & LibraryChelmsfordChelmsfordSports website, history and memorabilia of the Essex County Cricket Club, located at County Cricket Ground
Prittlewell Priory Prior's Chamber and Crowstone - geograph.org.uk - 1929931.jpg Southend-on-SeaSouthend-on-SeaReligious Medieval priory
Purfleet Heritage & Military Centre Purfleet ThurrockMilitary website, located in a former Royal magazine for gunpowder, artifacts and memorabilia from all the armed forces
Rayleigh Town Museum Rayleigh Town Museum 190916.jpg Rayleigh Rochford Local website, Rayleigh, its people, places and heritage, oldest secular Building in town
Rayleigh Windmill Rayleigh windmill - geograph.org.uk - 211121.jpg Rayleigh Rochford MillEarly 19th century windmill
Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum Ridgewell BraintreeMilitary website, uniforms, artifacts, medals, memorabilia of the World War II airfield, the 381st Bomb Group and the No. 90 Squadron RAF
Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey Epping ForestMultipleComplex includes science of gunpowder exhibits, history of the site, exhibits of weapons and military artifacts, transportation, rockets, 1940s street scene, history of the Gunpowder Plot, narrow gauge railway, woodlands
Saffron Walden Museum Saffron Walden UttlesfordMultiple website, local history, natural history, Ancient Egypt, archaeology, decorative arts, costumes, ethnographic artifacts
Sandford Mill ChelmsfordChelmsfordScience website, area industrial history and the science involved, part of Chelmsford Museums
Southchurch Hall Southend-on-SeaSouthend-on-SeaHistoric houseEarly 14th century half-timbered medieval manor house with period rooms depicting life in different centuries
Southend Central Museum Southend-on-SeaSouthend-on-SeaMultipleLocal history, natural history, planetarium
Southend Pier Museum Southend-on-SeaSouthend-on-SeaAmusementHistory of the Southend Pier, working penny slot machines
Stansted Mountfitchet Windmill Stansted Mountfitchet mill.jpg Stansted Mountfitchet UttlesfordMillLate 18th century windmill
Stock Windmill Stock mill.jpg Stock ChelmsfordMillEarly 19th century windmill
Thaxted Guildhall Thaxted guildhall.JPG Thaxted UttlesfordHistoric house website, 14th century guild hall
The Time MachineHarlowHarlowScience website, hands-on science and technology exhibits
Thurrock Museum Grays ThurrockLocal website, local history, culture, archaeology, industry, culture, social history
Tilbury Fort Tilbury fort water gate.jpg Tilbury ThurrockMilitaryOperated by English Heritage, 17th century artillery fort
Walton Maritime Museum Walton Maritime Museum, Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 195823.jpg Walton-on-the-Naze TendringMaritime website, former lifeboat station with maritime artifacts, local history, natural history, restore James Stevens 14 lifeboat, operated by the Frinton & Walton Heritage Trust
Warner Textile Archive BraintreeBraintreeTextileArchive of some 100,000 items relating to the textile industry in Braintree, in particular the legacy of Warner and Sons
Wilkin & Sons Visitor Centre Tiptree ColchesterFoodTearoom, shop and museum of Wilkin & Sons jams and jam-making

Defunct museums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basildon</span> Human settlement in England

Basildon is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southend-on-Sea</span> City and Borough in Essex, England

Southend-on-Sea, commonly referred to as Southend, is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, 40 miles (64 km) east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. It is home to the longest pleasure pier in the world, Southend Pier. London Southend Airport is located north of the city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colchester</span> City in Essex, England

Colchester is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery</span> Museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local history and industrial history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prittlewell</span> Human settlement in England

Prittlewell is an inner city area of Southend-on-Sea in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Historically, Prittlewell is the original settlement of the city, Southend being the south end of Prittlewell. The village of Prittlewell was originally centered at the joining of three main roads, East Street, West Street, and North Street, which was extended south in the 19th century and renamed Victoria Avenue. The principal administrative buildings in Southend are located along Victoria Avenue, although Prittlewell is served by Prittlewell railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beecroft Art Gallery</span>

Beecroft Art Gallery is a gallery in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. Prior to 2014, the gallery was formerly located in and Edwardian building on Station Road at Westcliff-on-Sea which was donated to the people of Southend-on-Sea in 1952 by Walter Beecroft (1885–1961) to house his eclectic collection of art works. Walter Beecroft was a solicitor in nearby Leigh. He had already set up an Art Gallery Sub-Committee of the Public Libraries & Museum Committee in 1928, and in 1947 he proposed to endow a building to become and Art Gallery. Eventually, this led to the Beecroft Art Gallery on Station Road. Beecroft also endowed the Beecroft Bequest, an art purchase fund administered by the Museums Association. The gallery was resited in 2014 to the former home of the Central Library on Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Newark Museum of Art</span> Art museum in New Jersey, United States

The Newark Museum of Art, formerly known as the Newark Museum, in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the ancient world. Its extensive collections of American art include works by Hiram Powers, Thomas Cole, John Singer Sargent, Albert Bierstadt, Frederick Church, Childe Hassam, Mary Cassatt, Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Joseph Stella, Tony Smith and Frank Stella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peabody Essex Museum</span> Art museum in Salem, MA

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute. PEM is one of the oldest continuously operating museums in the United States and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the United States. Its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as well as twenty-two historic buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Essex</span> Bus operator in Essex, England

First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southend Pier</span> Pleasure pier in Southend-on-Sea

Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, United Kingdom. Extending 2.16 kilometres (1.34 mi) into the Thames Estuary, it is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received Royal Assent in May 1829 with construction starting in July 1829. The timber pier was replaced by an iron pier that opened to the public in August 1889. The Southend Pier Railway, opened in the early 1890s, was the first pier railway in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Mason</span>

Bernard Mason OBE was a prominent Colchester businessman and philanthropist who was born in Ipswich but lived his whole life in Colchester. He was the proprietor of Mason's printing firm from which he retired as director in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern National Omnibus Company</span>

Eastern National was a bus company operating in south-east England, primarily in Essex, from 1929 to the 1990s.

Robert Arthur Jones was born in Liverpool but moved to Southend-on-Sea after working for a clock and watchmaker in Manchester. In 1890 he set up his jewellery business on Southend's High Street. He went on to become one of the most important benefactors of the town.

References

  1. ↑ "Motorboat Museum: Home". Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2010. Motorboat Museum
  2. ↑ "Tymperleys' time is coming again". Daily Gazette. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "Walton Hall Museum shuts its doors after more than 18 years". Thurrock Gazette. 23 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2015.

See also

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.